This invention relates to a door protector assembly for temporarily mounting to a vehicle door to protect the door from damage while the vehicle is parked.
When a vehicle is parked in a parking lot, it is not unusual for the edge of an adjacent vehicle's door, when it is being opened, to bump the door of the vehicle. This often results in paint smears, scratches or dents being left on the vehicle's door, which are unsightly and are difficult or expensive to repair. Vehicle manufacturers have attempted to address this problem by providing protective moldings on vehicle doors. However, such moldings often do not prevent the opening door of an adjacent vehicle from striking the panel of the vehicle door, such as when the outermost point of the opening door is located above or below the protective molding of the vehicle door.
Various temporary door protectors are known for mounting to a vehicle door to protect the door from being struck by an opening door when the vehicle is parked. Some such protectors are shown in Martinez U.S. Pat. No. 3,882,574; Zientara U.S. Pat. 2,889,165; Sauer U.S. Pat. No. 3,367,702; Cruz U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,380; Spears U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,013; Smith, Sr. U.S. Pat. No. 4,879,543; James U.S. Pat. No. 4,002,363; Ziner et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,331; and Marasigan, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,302.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle door protector which is extremely simple in its components, construction, operation and installation. It is a further object of the invention to provide a vehicle door protector which can be sold as a kit and in which certain components of the kit can be cut to size according to the length of the door to which the protector is to be mounted. It is a further object of the invention to provide a vehicle door protector which protrudes outwardly from the outer surface of the door a sufficient distance to prevent the edge of an opening door of an adjacent vehicle from striking the vehicle door, even when the outermost point of the opening door is located above or below the protector. Yet another object of the invention is to provide a vehicle door protector which is firmly secured to the door when the door is closed, and which is easily removable from the door when the door is opened.
In accordance with the invention, a vehicle door protector comprises a pair of elongated members, each of which has a hook at one of its ends. The elongated members are engagable with each other to form an elongated door mounting subassembly which defines a longitudinal spanning portion extending between first and second ends, with the hooks being located one at each end of the subassembly. The hooks are engagable with spaced edges of the door to mount the door mounting subassembly thereto. The elongated members are capable of movement relative to each other in a longitudinal direction, such that the spanning portion of the door mounting subassembly can be lengthened or shortened. Lengthening of the door mounting subassembly allows the hooks to be removed from the door, and shortening of the subassembly allows the hooks to be moved toward each other to engage the edges of the door. A pair of cushion members are adapted for mounting to the spanning portion of the door mounting subassembly. Each cushion member defines a longitudinal passage through which the spanning portion of the door mounting subassembly extends. The pair of cushion members include facing engaging surfaces, and encompass a majority of the length of the spanning portion when the door mounting subassembly is mounted to the door. The cushion members, in combination with the door mounting subassembly, are engaged by the outermost point of the opening door of an adjacent vehicle, to prevent the surface of the door to which the door protector is mounted from being struck by the opening door. In this manner, the cushion members absorb shocks to protect the door from being damaged by the opening door of an adjacent vehicle.
In a preferred form, the facing surface of one of the cushion members defines a male projection, and the facing surface of the other cushion member defines a female recess for receiving the male projection therein, to engage the cushion members with each other. The female recess extends throughout a majority of the length of the cushion member in which it is formed. In this manner, this cushion member can be cut to length according to the length of the door to which the door protector is mounted, while still leaving the female recess exposed to receive the male projection therein.
One of the elongated members defines an axially extending internal passage, and the other is received within the internal passage, such that the elongated members are telescopingly mounted to each other to shorten and lengthen the door mounting subassembly.
The invention further comprises a vehicle door protector kit and a method of mounting a door protector to the door of a vehicle, substantially in accordance with the foregoing summary.
Various other features, objects and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following description taken together with the drawings.